This invention relates to method and means for locating in a stored textual data base, those textual blocks having the best match with a query composed of multiple words.
Method and means are generally known for locating in a stored textual data base those textual blocks which have the best match with a query. One method and means is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,298. This patent discloses an arrangement whereby techniques called "piping" and "brightness" are used to locate entries in a data base which have the best match with a query. The entries are then scored according to how well they match the original query and, preferably, identifiers for the entries are ordered, using the scores, so that the identifier for a paragraph having the best score appears first and the one that has the poorest score appears last. The user may then read out the actual text of the entries starting with those that have the best score.
Other prior art arrangements employing inverted files are disclosed in Chapter 31, pages 558-571, of the book titled Computer Data Base Organization, by James Martin, published by Prentice Hall in 1977. One arrangement referred to is Stairs which uses an inverted file system to score text based on the inclusion of certain words in a block of text.